What is a decluttered life?

What is a 'decluttered life'?

A life free of clutter?

Will I get one if -

I get rid of junk,

tidy up,

sort the jumble,

clear stuff out

and spring-clean?

Will I get one if -

I create order from disorder,

ditch the hoarded stuff,

create a minimalist environment?

Is living simply just about things?

Will I get simplicity if -

I have less,

use less,

recycle more?

Does simplicity depend on a simple spirit

and what is that anyway?

An interior grace?

Something seen in people -

like Ghandhi,

Mother Theresa?

A transparency through which

beauty is glimpsed

God's grace glows?

What is a 'decluttered life'?

Do I really want one?

This question and my responses were prompted by the prayer/poem Simplicity by Stephen Cherry published in Barefoot Prayers, a book I've been using during Lent. It begins

"Lord, make me simple - for I have become too complicated."

The full text of this short poem is on Big Read14:Simplicity and you can hear it read by Maggie Cherry. It isn't really about what might first come to mind when you think of decluttering. It's a prayer for growth in the virtue of simplicity. I particularly like the end, which is why I chose the beautiful photo of a transparent butterfly to head this post:

"...let me become 

wholehearted and 

transparent. 

That when people see through me, 

they might glimpse your trace."

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons